Shamus  (1983 - Synapse)
Platform: Commodore 64
Region: pal
Gametype: Undefined
Release Year: 1983
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A combination of Berzerk and Adventure -- explore over 120 rooms to find the evil enemy.

Shamus is a computer game written by William Mataga and published by Synapse Software. Originally released for the Atari 8-bit computers in 1982, it was later ported to a number of platforms including the VIC-20, Commodore 64, TRS-80 Color Computer, TI-99/4A, IBM PC and Nintendo Game Boy Color; several of these ports were made by Atarisoft. It was followed by a sequel Shamus: Case II, available on the Atari and C64.

William Mataga's original version was 16k in size and released on disk, tape, and cartridge for the Atari 8-bit family. The VIC-20 port was 8k and contained only 32 levels (unlike the 128 in every other version). Other releases were either on disk or tape.

In 1999, Mataga developed an improved remake for the Game Boy Color.

The original Shamus is notably incompatible with any of the Atari 8-bit family except the 400/800.

Official ports of both Shamus and Shamus: Case II are available for iOS devices.

Gameplay

Inspired by the arcade game Berzerk, the objective of the game is to navigate the eponymous robotic detective through a 4-skill level, 128-room maze of electrified walls. The ultimate goal at the end of this journey is "The Shadow's Lair".

Opposing the player are a number of robotic adversaries, including spiral drones, robo droids and snap jumpers. Shamus is armed with 'Ion SHIVs'...SHIV being an acronym for Short High Intensity Vaporizer...and is able to hurl up to two at a time at his enemies. Like many other games in this genre, touching an electrified wall results in instantaneous death. Upon the completion of each level, the gameplay speeds up, increasing the chances of running into a wall.

The main gameplay involves clearing the room of all enemies, picking up special items on the way and then leaving through an exit. Upon returning to the room, the enemies are regenerated and returned to their original positions. In exactly the same way as Berzerk, the player is attacked if he or she spends too much time in a room. In this case, the Shadow himself emerges from off-screen and hops directly at Shamus, unhindered by the walls.

The game differs from Berzerk in that the player may pick up items along the way - for example, bottles containing extra lives, mystery question marks, and keys which would open exits, thus expanding the game area.

The game was unique in that its combination of locks and keys required the player to complete each of its four levels in a particular order. To complete the game in its entirety would take several hours, which combined with the lack of a pause function (except on the IBM version), the necessity of remembering the location of dozens of rooms and keys, and the frenetic gameplay meant that this was extremely difficult to accomplish.

The game was also notable for using Funeral March of a Marionette, the well-known theme song from Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Trivia

The various maze layouts are all named after famous fictional detectives or agents, such as "Clouseau", "Marlowe", "Holmes" or "Bond".

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Description from the packaging:

Four levels of intense arcade action.
You've finally made it. Your nerves and your guts tell you he's here... and the smell. The sickeningly sweet odor of decomposing fruit: the Shadow's trademark. Now all that's left... to find and destroy him before he returns the compliment.
You didn't know it was going to be this hard. After all, it is the 21st century and your Ion Shivs are probably the most dangerous weapons in this part of the galaxy. They can drop a fully screened sniffer-droid at 300 meters!

Out of the corner of your eye, a small black shape darts up to the door and noiselessly enters the building across the rocket pad. The memory of your last encounter with the Shadow jolts you, like a neuro-stunner set on max. Images of Robo-Droids, that just don't know when to quit... dark, sneaky Whirling Drones from a timeslip star system... and the lightning quick Snap-Jumpers, that fry you for looking at them cross-eyed, flicker through your mind. Still you've handled them before... The big boy himself, Shadow, is the one you're after!

As you silently enter the door coordinates into your teleporter, the scanner indicates that there are four colored levels of 32 rooms each, and every room is bristling with danger. You know it won't be a high school prom when you transport into the Shadow's lair but there is no turning back. So with a grim chuckle, you reach for the bottle of Nervo-Stim and energize the transporter. You're ready as the Stim slides down warmly and your biosensors click into high gear!
Tell the Shadow that Shamus is here!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamus_(video_game)
